SHARE THE PROJECT
where can your project exist, and how should it look?
It was not too long ago that sharing your work meant having access to the gatekeepers of the industry, being based in a cultural hub, or putting up big dollars. With the emergence of new media and Web 2.0, the process and pathways for photographers to display their work and interact with an interested audience has been upended. This has created a dynamic environment for the discussion and exchange of photography. As a result, a photographer can now live and work in remote areas and communicate directly with a global audience.
To use social media effectively you need to choose the appropriate platforms. Be selective: you likely do not need more than three social media accounts to convey your project. Think quality over quantity and be consistent with your message. Posting is as much about sharing your work as it is about creating a brand or cohesive style for yourself. Spend some time researching other projects found on Instagram or Facebook. Ask yourself simple but crucial questions: What do I like about them? What can be improved? Will this style fit my work? Who is my audience? Do I need dedicated social media channels for my project? When you do start to post content, be selective. You want to tease your audience as you produce the project, as sharing too much doesn’t give them any reason to continue to follow the project.
Depending on the project you may also want to look at a project-dedicated website or an app. Dedicated websites and apps can be highly interactive and enable you to effectively include additional media texts like audio and video in a seamless way. Natasha Del Toro and Joakim Eskildsen’s American Realities, as well as Matt Black’s Geography of Poverty are strong examples of American poverty projects that were realised through dedicated websites as well as being published in book form.
When choosing a model of output, whether it’s a website, in print, a traditional exhibition or solely on social media, it’s important to remember that they are not mutually exclusive and embracing numerous output options simultaneously may help extend the reach of the project.